9/9/12

This post probably should be a "My Favorite Friday" post, but since I'm not starting it until Sunday night, I'll add it to "Made4Math!" (I finally had a chance to catch up on great blogs from so many people! What a fabulous way to spend a few hours this afternoon.)

I used the same (ancient) computerized seating chart program for many years, but alas, it no longer worked on Windows 7. Thanks to one of our math teachers, many of us are now using Smart Seat, and we are all loving this app! (We agree that it was well worth $3.99.)

Smart Seat is strictly a seating chart/attendance app, but you may also make notes on each student.

The app allows you to easily change room layouts, and here's a screen shot of my class grouped by "tables." For the display, I can choose to include first names, first and last names, or first names and pictures.

Here's a sample class of rows, and I included a couple of pictures for demo purposes only. (My cat didn't mind posing for a picture!)

You may also add icons to each name to help create an instructional seating chart. Another cool features is the "Random" button, which provides an in-app random name generator. The students you have called on are highlighted until you click "Done," so you know who has participated.

I imported all of my students' names using a .txt file, and it was a very simple process. There are a few other options to change the text size, orientation, and exporting features. You may save and print each chart as a PDF.

My friend Laura contacted the app developer a couple times, and they were very helpful and immediately responded to her questions, so that's another plus for me.

To change seats, just hold and drag a student's name to a new location! There is also an option to scramble all seats to quickly create a new, random seating chart.

I practiced with the Teacherkit app this summer, which also includes a grade book feature, but as of now, I still prefer Smart Seat. (Teacherkit is free, though!)